


old friends

by michpat6



Series: aftermath [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, but I figured why not tag them anyways, but link loves her anyways, is that bad ao3 etiquette? idk, maybe angst but definitely not fluff, the champions and impa are only mentioned, zelda's not doing too great right now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27803158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michpat6/pseuds/michpat6
Summary: He says nothing. He is her bodyguard, the only obstacle between her and death. It is his destiny to be by her side, to be her right hand, to be her shield like he was a century ago, looking a Guardian in the eye and knowing that blue beam would be the last thing he ever saw. Doesn’t he get to be a little cruel to those who waste her precious time? Is that not a form of protection?
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: aftermath [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033743
Comments: 7
Kudos: 172





	old friends

_So…you’re finally awake._

Kakariko is sleeping when they arrive. So is Zelda, sitting on Spots Junior’s saddle, gripping his dark mane in loose fists with her head pillowed on his neck.

Link walks beside his horse, holding the reins to guide him forward and keep the princess steady.

There’s a puff of smoke and two Sheikah guards appear, Olkin, the fortified pumpkin farmer, and Steen, the man who won’t believe that Link is the Hero. On instinct, Link reaches back and draws the Master Sword, and the sound of the glowing blade being freed from its scabbard wakes Zelda, who bolts upright and holds out her right hand. Her trembling fingertips turn gold, the Triforce blazing over her knuckles, but then it all fades and she sags, chest heaving.

_The history of the royal family of Hyrule is also the history of Calamity Ganon._

“Goddesses, forgive me, Your Highness,” Olkin says, bowing to Zelda. “We weren’t-“

Then he realizes what he’s saying and who he’s speaking to, freezing in place.

“Your-Your Highness!” Steen, dumbfounded, stares at her before Olkin punches his shoulder and they both drop to one knee. “You’re alive?”

“Barely,” Zelda pants. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of her flushed face. “Stand up, both of you.”

“Is Impa awake?” Link sheathes the sword, doesn’t miss how Steen watches it settle on his back after saying it was a fake only three days ago. “The princess would like to see her.”

_With the passage of time, each conflict with Ganon faded into legend._

“I’ll check!” They cry in unison. They both salute him, bow again to her, and disappear in twin puffs of smoke.

Link sighs, shaking his head.

“I think it’s funny,” Zelda says. “How they respect you like that. The Sheikah have never saluted members of the Hylian Army and meant it.”

“Being the Hero of Legend has its perks,” he mutters. “A universal soldier, a weapon everyone can use.”

“I didn’t…” she stares down at him. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know.” He’s a piece in her puzzle. Hylia’s puzzle, really, but Zelda just so happens to be the Goddess incarnate. So does that mean she’s to blame? “Impa’s waiting for us.”

Impa, Zelda’s friend. Impa, Zelda’s advisor. Impa, Zelda’s first protector, before he came along with the Master Sword and took her place.

Impa, Zelda’s messenger, who sent him to free the Divine Beasts at Zelda’s request. Her one order to him from beyond the sanctum, a faceless general commanding her lone soldier, to destroy the Blights and look upon old, dead friends with a stranger’s eyes and wield their last wishes like he would any other weapon.

_Upon Ganon’s inevitable return to Hyrule, the princess and the hero fought alongside these four Champions against this ancient evil._

He wonders if the Champions are still haunting him. He wonders if, if he were to be fatally wounded, if he were to bleed out, would he see Mipha and watch her knit his skin back together? Would Daruk still protect him from lucky shots with a boisterous laugh, would Revali still lift him into the skies with pompous indifference? Would Urbosa still roar, protective as a mother, and electrocute the world around him so he could run and survive?

He almost doesn’t want to find out, doesn’t know how he’d feel if the only people he could tentatively call his friends are well and truly gone.

What would his gift be, if the roles were reversed? If he were drifting outside of Fort Hateno, waiting a century for one of them to show up and avenge him, to set his spirit free? Paragliding? How to bake Zelda’s favorite fruitcake and then eat it in the heat of battle? The art of shield surfing?

They stop just before the stairs that lead up into Impa’s house. Link helps Zelda off of Spots Junior, supporting her weight as she stumbles, and Dorian and Cado lead the horse away, sending him a smile and bowing their heads to the princess.

_The Guardians were tasked with protecting the hero as the Divine Beasts unleashed a furious attack upon their terrible foe._

Zelda glares at the steps, her hands clenched into fists. He imagines, with how much loathing there is in her eyes, it’s how she looked at the Calamity in its final moments.

“I could carry you,” he offers, whispering. “No one would see.”

“No,” her voice shakes. “I-I have to do this. I must build back my strength one way or another.”

Olkin and Steen burst out of the door and sprint down the staircase to them. They bow to Zelda, and Olkin reports, “Impa is awake, Your Highness, as is Paya. They are both expecting you.”

“Thank you,” Link tells them. “Please leave. The princess needs privacy.”

They salute him, and disappear.

“You make me out to be so cruel,” she weakly jokes. “Dismissing them like that.”

_And when the hero wielding the sword that seals the darkness delivered his final blow…_

He says nothing. He is her bodyguard, the only obstacle between her and death. It is his destiny to be by her side, to be her right hand, to be her shield like he was a century ago, looking a Guardian in the eye and knowing that blue beam would be the last thing he ever saw. Doesn’t he get to be a little cruel to those who waste her precious time? Is that not a form of protection?

She turns her attention back to the stairs. “Go on, I’ll catch up.”

“You’re sure?”

She grabs the wood banister, takes a tentative first step onto the bottom stair. Lifts her second foot onto it as well. “Yes. If I just take them one at a time…”

He walks slowly up to the landing instead of rushing like he usually would. He doesn’t want to rub in her face the fact that he’s, physically, in perfect condition, while she struggles to move. He turns, faces her, and waits.

“I meant go inside, Link,” she says. “Tell Impa the good news. I’ll get there.”

The idea of letting her out of his sight for even a second, even just to talk to Impa, makes his skin crawl. “I’m fine here.”

“Link-“

“Princess.”

“I told you-“

“I’ll call you what you want if you let me wait.”

Zelda scowls, and even the storm in her expression makes his heart race. “Fine.”

He doesn’t mean to, but he times her, counting the seconds it takes for her to reach him at the top of the stairs. Twelve minutes and 46 seconds later, Zelda is hunched over, gasping for air, and Link is handing her his canteen.

He tells her, “I’m proud of-“

“Don’t patronize me,” she snaps, glowering up at him, but then she sighs, relaxing, and says, gentler, “I’m sorry, I…It’s frustrating, being weak like this. I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You could never be one, Zelda,” he reassures her, and there’s a swell of affection in his chest when her eyes light up at his use of her name. “Not to me.”

The princess takes a long sip from his canteen, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and giving it back to him. “Let’s talk to Impa, shall we?”

Link smiles. “Lead the way, Your Highness.”

_The princess used her sacred power to seal away Calamity Ganon._

Zelda’s head whips around and she opens her mouth to probably scold him, but when she sees his smile, she laughs.

It sounds like music.

**Author's Note:**

> zelda: *laughs*
> 
> link: hope this doesn't awaken anything in me.


End file.
